Category: Crafts

by Leland Richardson on July 21, 2023 0

How to Find Arts and Crafts Supplies

About 20 years ago, I was playing around with the idea of buying a florist business. I eventually didn’t go through with it as I was breaking the cardinal rule of owning a business – that of having good practical experience. My total amount of floral experience was limited to occasional purchases from the area wholesale florist. During my interview with the owner, I asked her how I could find floral-related vendors. Her response:‘Don’t worry – they’ll find you!”.

If you’ve been in business any length of time, you know how true this is. However, you need to scare up some potential arts and craft supplies vendors and request price lists before you start your arts and crafts business. There is no way you can take even the first step towards starting a business unless you know how much it’s going to cost you to make your product.

Arts and Craft Supplies Instructor Referrals

Instructors at arts / crafts classes or seminars are great referral sources for tools, art supplies and craft materials. Since the instructor has so much experience in the field, they should have an encyclopedic knowledge of the best vendors in your arts/crafts area. Most likely, they’ll have a handout addressing this issue they’ll distribute the first night of class.

Arts and Crafts Books and Magazines

Flip through any arts/craft specialty magazine and you’ll see numerous advertisements by arts and crafts supplies vendors. The more tailored the magazine to your particular area of interest, the more useful the advertisements. Check them out – but keep in mind that as your business grows you’ll want to find vendors selling wholesale. Most advertisers in these magazines gear themselves towards the casual hobbyist.

Most arts/crafts books have a resource section in the appendix listing supply vendors. You don’t have to lay out the money to purchase many different books. Pay a visit to your local library and borrow the books or use the library copier to make copies of the applicable info. Make sure the book is current (my suggestion – published within the last year) so you don’t waste your time tracking down a bunch of defunct vendors.

Online Arts and Crafts Supplies Vendors

Your first online search should be the Guide who writes about your craft. Most Guides have resource links with plenty of vendor suggestions. For example, check out Painting Guide Marion Boddy-Evans’ What Art Supplies Do You Need to Start Painting? article.

Do a key phrase search by Googling ‘wholesale xxx supplies’ and see what comes up. I’ve not found that Googling is the best way to find full service arts/crafts vendors but it’s worth a shot. I also occasionally check out suppliers selling through eBay, Etsy and ArtFire.

Finding Arts and Crafts Supplies Vendors Through Trade Organizations

If you haven’t already, you should join some of your industry arts/crafts organizations. Besides keeping up with your industry, they are a great place to find wholesale vendors. You’ll also find links to other online resources serving your particular art/craft.

For example, The Ganoksin Project has a resources page with a comprehensive guide to industry websites . While tailored to the jewelry making industry, many of the vendors listed provide materials and supplies for other types of arts/crafts also. The Society of American Silversmiths also has fantastic resources for artists such as technical information and how to purchase hard-to-find goods and services.

I know from experience that it can be just plain hard to find exactly what you’re looking for. Worse yet is when you find the perfect vendor only to find out they won’t sell to your business because it’s too new or unknown or their minimum order is too big. My best advice is to just keep on looking until you find what you need, go to as many trade events as possible and make industry contacts by joining trade organizations.

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by David Burgess on June 28, 2023 0

Tips For Getting The Most Out Of Your Tashi Handicrafts Discount Code

Looking for a way to get the most out of your Tashi Handicrafts discount code? Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of your purchase!

If you need to look for best websites that list the latest discount code, you need to browse at Couponvario. They have a wide variety of tashi handicrafts promo codes available, so you can choose the one that best suits your needs. Whether you are looking for a percentage off your purchase, free shipping, or a free gift with purchase, they have a code that will help you save.

Make sure to read the terms and conditions before buying a discount code.

Make sure to follow the instructions carefully.

Be sure to use the code at the time of purchase.

Be sure to check back often, as the code may expire at any time.

What are the best tips for getting the most out of your Tashi Handicrafts discount code?

Here are a few tips to get the most out of your Tashi Handicrafts discount code.

Make sure to use the code often!

The best way to get the most out of your Tashi Handicrafts discount code is to use it frequently. By using the code often, you will be able to make sure that you are getting the best discounts.

Shop around

If you are looking for a particular discount code, don’t hesitate to shop around. You can find many different discount codes that are available, so you will be able to get the best deal.

Be sure to read the terms and conditions

When you are looking for a discount code, be sure to read the terms and conditions. This will help you to understand the specific discounts that are available.

Use the code quickly

If you use the code quickly, you will be able to get the most out of the discounts. By using the code quickly, you will be able to avoid any delays that may occur.

Use the code often

If you use the code often, you will be able to get the most out of the discounts. By using the code often, you will be able to get the best deals on your products.

If you’re looking to save on your Tashi Handicrafts purchase, there are a few things you can do to help. Here are a few tips to get the most out of your Tashi Handicrafts discount code:

Make a list of what you plan to use your Tashi Handicrafts discount code for. This will help you plan your purchase and ensure that you’re getting the best deal.

Check the expiration date on your discount code. Make sure to check the date of the code’s expiration in order to ensure that you don’t lose your discount.

Active your discount code before you make your purchase. This will ensure that you’re getting the most benefit from your code and that your purchase is completed quickly.

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by David Burgess on January 25, 2023 0

Great Yarn.com Deals You Don’t Want To Miss

Yarn.com is one of the most popular online yarn stores and for good reason. They offer a wide variety of yarns, knitting supplies, and helpful resources for knitters and crocheters of all skill levels.

Yarn.com frequently runs sales and promotions, so it’s always a good idea to check their website before making a purchase. You can also use the third party website like couponvario, to stay up-to-date exclusive offers and coupon codes .

Here are five great deals from Yarn.com that you don’t want to miss:

Free shipping on orders over $75

Yarn.com offers free standard shipping on all orders over $75. This is a great way to save on shipping costs if you’re planning to make a large purchase.

10% off your first order

Yarn.com frequently offers a promotion code for 10% off your first order. This is a great way to save on your first purchase from the site.

Save up to 50% off clearance items

Yarn.com occasionally runs clearance sales where you can save up to 50% off on select items. This is a great way to find discounts on high-quality yarns and other knitting supplies.

Sign up for the Yarn.com newsletter to receive exclusive offers

By signing up for the Yarn.com newsletter, you’ll receive exclusive offers and coupon codes that can be used on future purchases. This is a great way to stay up-to-date on the latest sales and promotions from the site.

Follow Yarn.com on social media for exclusive deals and offers

Yarn.com frequently posts exclusive deals and offers on their social media accounts. This is a great way to stay up-to-date on the latest sales and promotions from the site.

If you’re a fan of yarn.com, then you know that they always have great deals on their products. Here are 5 deals that you don’t want to miss out on!

-Save 20% off your purchase of $50 or more

-Get free shipping on orders of $75 or more

-Save 10% off your purchase of $25 or more

-Get free shipping on orders of $50 or more

-Save 20% off your purchase of $100 or more

So what are you waiting for? Head on over to yarn.com and take advantage of these great deals!

Are you a fan of yarn.com? If you’re not, you should be! They offer great prices on all of your favorite yarn brands, plus they have an amazing selection of hard-to-find yarns.

Here are 5 great deals you don’t want to miss:

-10% off all Lion Brand yarn

-15% off all Cascade yarn

-20% off all Berroco yarn

-25% off all Plymouth yarn

-30% off all Universal yarn

Don’t miss out on these great deals! Head over to yarn.com today and start shopping!

By taking advantage of these deals, you can save a lot of money on your next purchase from Yarn.com. Be sure to check the site frequently for new deals and offers.

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by Leland Richardson on November 18, 2021 0

on newness and springtime and going way, way out of your comfort zone

This year marks 19 years since I purchased my first single-lens-reflex camera. I’m self-taught, and in that time, I’ve shot literally hundreds of thousands of photographs. I’ve photographed flowers and faces and faraway places. I’ve written and shot a book. I kept up a photoblog for over 9 years. And after playing with my camera for all this time, I’ve realized something:

My photographs are starting to feel same-old-same-old. I have my processing tricks down pat. I shoot from the same angles every time. I know what works and what doesn’t, and I’m not sure how to experiment in a way that stretches me. And I need to stretch.

This feeling — of being stagnant, of not growing — has become really acute over the last few weeks. Perhaps it’s because it’s springtime, and there’s so much newness in the air, but I decided that it was time to shake myself up a bit. So for the first time in my life, I signed up for a photography course. But not just any course: a course led by this fine art photographer.

As you can see, her work is nothing like my work: it’s surreal, and fantastical, and a bit out there. And honestly, I don’t really have any plans on changing the types of photographs I take: I find her work, while undeniably beautiful, a bit dark; and I, as you know, am all about the light. But I think her techniques are amazing — mind-boggling, really. I figure that simply by learning her methods — these methods and this way of shooting that are so different from mine — that I’m inevitably going to learn something. And learning is always a good thing.

The course is this coming weekend. I’ve purchased the recommended tools, pulled together my gear, and made my packing list. I can’t wait. I’m also a bit scared. But I love that I’m doing this — scaring myself, I mean — at the beginning of the spring season. Spring is all about renewal, and it occurs to me that maybe springtime is the time when we should do something a bit scary, a bit out there. Something that shakes up our comfort zones. Because I suspect that sometimes blissing your heart requires just that.

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by Leland Richardson on November 18, 2021 0

How to Make a Loopy Hair Bow

A flower loop hair bow is a delightful way to dress up a little girl. This charming bow is made from a variety ribbon in different colors and patterns. You can make a flower loop hair bow any size with as many layers as you like. For each succeeding layer just decrease the length of the ribbon by one inch. After creating your loopy hair bow, embellish the top with an artificial flower, an ornamental button, a plastic heart, jingle bells, or any decoration you choose.

How to make the Bow

Practice the technique briefly to better understand the construction of a flower loop hair bow. Cut a 10″ length of ribbon. Find the middle of the ribbon and insert a needle through it. Curl one end of the ribbon over (the end is flat and not curled into a circle) and push the end down halfway on the needle. You should have a loop with a needle protruding through one end. Curl the other end of the ribbon over and push it down on the needle. Now you have a figure 8 with a needle protruding in the center. This is the process you will repeat to construct the loop bow.

4″ Bow with 4 layers

Cut 6 pieces of ribbon 9″ long for layer 1. Cut 5 pieces of ribbon 8″ long for layer 2. Cut 4 pieces of ribbon 7″ long for layer 3. Cut 4 pieces of ribbon 6″ long for layer 4. Stack up all 6 pieces of ribbon for layer 1, fold them in half and hold. Insert a threaded needle half way through the center of the loop and through each layer of ribbon. Fan the pieces of ribbon around the needle in the shape of a flower. Place a salon or hair clip in the center to hold the fanned ribbon in place. Fold the end of the first ribbon over and push the end onto the needle. Take the ribbon next to the one you just folded and do the same thing. Repeat until all the ribbons are folded all the way around. Adjust the folded ribbons so they are evenly distributed around the bow. Pull the needle completely through until it is stopped by the knot in the end of the thread. Run the needle back through making a stitch. Make several stitches to secure layer 1. Repeat the entire process for each layer of the bow. You can sew or hot glue all the layers together.

Attach to a Barrette

Sew a piece of ribbon 2 ½” long to the bottom of the bow (the side with visible ribbon ends). Use this piece of ribbon to hot glue or sew the bow to the barrette. Add a flower, or any decoration to the front of the bow.

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by Leland Richardson on November 18, 2021 0

How to Set Prices for Your Decorated Cakes

Cake Decorating and Pricing Tips

Many people who handcraft their own decorated cakes don’t charge for the time they invest in the cake. Maybe they feel because the cake is made in their own kitchen, that it is not worth the high price of a bakery cake. For whatever reason, a person who makes cakes in their home often believe their craft is inferior to cakes created in the bakery section of a local store.

But, the cake you bake and decorate is no less a thing of beauty than any cake you find in your local bakery. Decorated cakes can be found in a variety of grocery stores, and they are decorated by hourly wage people that may or may not have had previous decorating experience.

Look at some of the handwriting on store bought cakes. It isn’t perfect, in fact sometimes the words are misspelled or placed incorrectly. On the other hand, you take the time to make everything as perfect as possible, you care about the product you make, and deserve to receive as much compensation for your work than anyone else.

Often, people who are just starting a cake decorating business offer lower prices than bakery shops. This is a big mistake! Actually, your prices should be slightly higher than the ones sold in stores. Most likely you precisely place the decorations on the cake, carefully write the message on the cake, and never take shortcuts when it comes to presenting the customer with a more personable cake than they’d get from a store.

Don’t under price your works of art, and don’t set your prices below the cakes found in bakery shops. Setting low prices might be your way to attract business, but people who are shopping for birthday or wedding cakes will question the low price. In effect, you can be eliminating yourself from the competition with low prices, because customers might think the quality of your cakes will be inferior.

Of course, when you first start in the cake decorating business, you need to set the prices comparable to other cake bakers in your local community. Never, never under price your cakes and set them apart from the going prices set from specialty bakers. The reason someone comes to you is because they are looking for a better product or a technique that bakers will not or cannot provide. Then as you gain experience and improve your techniques, you can steadily increase the price of your specialty designed cakes.

Setting your cake decorating prices too low, can actually price yourself right out of business! Sure, you might get many orders for decorated cakes, but if you lose money on every one, how long will you be able to stay in business? Your cakes might be beautiful and unique, but if you are not being paid the true worth than you might as well just close your doors.

In addition to supplies, you must be compensated for your time, as well. Before setting a price, you need to take into consideration the time it takes to mix the cake, bake the cake, mix the icing, make the decorations and decorate the cake. For instance, if a customer wants a custom design, then you need to figure the cost of supplies, an hour to mix and make the cake, maybe another two hours to make the decorations, and another hour to decorate the cake. If you believe your time is worth $5 or $10 per hour, then the price of the cake should be a minimum of $40 to $60. Do not under compensate yourself.

Sure, cake decorating might begin as a hobby to present cakes to family members or friends and neighbors. But, before long, the word gets out about your skills and it turns into a business. You need to be smart about what you’re doing or it will become a drain on your time and finances.

In addition to cake and icing ingredients, cake decorating tips, cutters, colors, bags, racks, mixers, tables and classes to learn more or advanced techniques do not come free. You must charge a reasonable amount in order to buy the tools of the trade. No one can tell you how much to charge for a decorated cake. You need to be comfortable with the prices you charge. But, do your homework, learn how much bakers are charging for designed cakes in your community.

Compile a gallery of photos so customers can see the work you’ve done, and can feel confident in the product you have to offer. Here again, if your work is substandard to local bakeries, then why should customers pay more to buy their cake from you? Photographs, good quality cakes, and unique designs are important in order to set your price a bit higher than store bakeries. Always strive to do better work, maintain good tasting cakes and icings, and give personable, caring service to your customers.

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by Leland Richardson on November 17, 2021 0

How to Get Practical Craft Experience

Turning hobbies into full time jobs is the dream of many casual crafters. It takes time, creativity and persistence. Another key element is experience. Rudimentary knowledge of your art / craft isn’t good enough if you’re selling goods to paying customers.

You need to have the knowledge to put out a quality product at a price that your customer will pay while still making enough money to cover both your business and personal expenses. Just starting out and not sure how to get that knowledge? Here are my suggestions for getting good, practical experience in running a craft business.

Working for Another Craft Business

Years ago when I first started giving seminars on starting a new business, getting good practical experience working for another similar type business was my number one suggestion. It still is. This is the best and most ideal of situations.

Working for another crafter not only teaches you the specific skill, it exposes you to the complete picture of the business aspects of selling crafts. Definitely, having prior experience working for a business in the same craft discipline to the one you want to start will be one of your major keys to success.

However, I know that for many, unless you are a student looking for an internship, this isn’t an option. You’re working 40 hours plus at your day job and the last thing you want to do is get a part-time job working for someone else in your craft field. Honestly, fast forwarding to today, it would be a difficult option for me to achieve too. So, what to do if putting in hours working for another arts / crafts designer just can’t be done?

Practice, Practice, Practice

It’s trite but practice is a very necessary part of gaining design and fabrication experience. Do you ever watch Project Runway? What always happens at the start of each show? These are trained designers with years of experience in the field, yet after they are given an assignment, they don’t just get out a pair of shears and start hacking up fabric.

They think about their particular design, sketch it out, carefully consider the right fabric and use muslin to make patterns prior to cutting the actual garment fabric. Sometimes they have to halt operations mid-stream when they see their design just isn’t going to pan out. As an inexperienced crafter, these are the basic steps you should follow – sometimes over and over and over again until a design or technique is totally worked out.

Until you’ve had a lot of practice, it’s really hard to have a 100% grasp on whether the materials you want to use are adaptable to your design. Also, it can take numerous prototypes to breakdown design elements into logical construction steps. Remember, developing well-honed techniques from hours of experimentation is necessary prior to announcing yourself to the world as a serious craft businessperson.

Yikes, all that material – it can be expensive – that’s why the clothing designers use muslin first. If possible, use the equivalent of muslin for your design prototypes.

Take Craft Business Courses or Seminars Tailored to Your Field

While this is a necessary part of running a business for experienced craft business owners, it’s exponentially important for the inexperienced. You should already have subscribed to and be reading trade publications. There are numerous craft seminars given convention style each year, hi-lighted in these publications, providing great information on many different craft related business topics.

Usually spanning two to three days, a variety of topics are normally covered and you’ll be able to pick and choose between the seminars you want to attend. If the seminars aren’t within driving distance, you’ll have the additional burden of airfare and lodging. However, lacking the time to get on-the-job practical experience, this is the next best thing.

Joining Craft Professional Trade Associations

What happens when you go out to lunch with people you work with? Don’t you invariable end up talking about your jobs – maybe getting the inside scoop on pending events? Well, that’s exactly the sort of interaction you’ll get when you join a local trade association. Attending these meetings is a great way to get experience vicariously as you find out about new tools, techniques, suppliers and legalities specific to your craft.

Getting experience working in the field is invaluable. You’ll have the priceless opportunity to see how an established business maneuvers around problems beyond their control and deals with supply, labor and customer issues. Lacking that opportunity, put aside time to practice your craft. Pair this with keeping on top of developing issues in your business by joining trade organizations and attending craft related seminars.

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by Leland Richardson on November 13, 2021 0

10 Steps to Follow Before You Start a Crafts Business

Being self-employed is the dream of many people running that daily 9-to-5 treadmill. If you’ve been mulling over the possibility of starting a crafts business, check out my ten recommended steps to follow before starting your business.

1. Think About Why You Want to Start a Crafts Business

Maybe you want to turn a hobby into a moneymaking business. Perhaps you’re just fed up with your day job and want to make the transition from working for someone else to working for yourself. Are you spending too much time at the office and feel a home-based craft business will give you more time with your family? Whatever the reason, and you might have more than one, sit down and give this question some serious thought.

2. Get Good Practical Experience

Opening a crafts business, especially if you plan to use it to replace your day job, isn’t something that you just wake up one day and decide to do. If you want your craft business to be a success you need to have experience ranging from basic design to complete construction.

3. Go to School if You Need to Hone Your Craft-Making Skills

It’s never a bad idea to take a class in your field of arts or crafts to advance your basic skills. Watching the instructor and your peers just may show you a better way to set up your workbench, perform your craft or you may get a referral to a fantastic vender. It’s also a great way to network, which can be helpful when growing your craft business.

4. Select Your Business Entity

Every choice and necessary business action you take in the start-up phrase of your craft business can vary based upon the type of business entity you select. If you don’t have any prior experience working for yourself, it’s a hard decision. Luckily, you only have three choices from which to choose: sole proprietorship, flow throughs or corporation.

5. Identify Your Customer

Before you hit the drawing board you have to consider who your potential customers are. A starting point is the age old male versus female demographic. However, male or female is too broad – you can’t stop there. Take this further by considering exactly what type of product you wish to handcraft.

6. Narrow Your Focus

When you first start your business, don’t take on too much and be all over the map with your product line. Concentrate on what you do well and with time and experience expand from there.

7. Check Out Your Competition

If you have too much competition, you don’t necessarily have to abandon your dream – develop a niche that is not yet saturated. On the other side, if you don’t have any competition, this may not be a good thing. It could be there is not enough of a market for your art or craft to make it a viable business.

8. Find Vendors

You need to find vendors that have wholesales terms so you can buy with a discount and establish terms. You also need this information because if you don’t know how much your vendors are going to charge you for the raw materials to make your product, how can you set a reasonable retail price? This also helps you figure out many items you have to sell to realize your personal or financial goals.

9. Set Up a Work Space

The great thing about most craft businesses is that they are ideally suited to operate as a home-based business. If that’s your plan, look around your home and map out where you will store inventory, take care of the business details like bill paying and make your craft product. If you’re planning to rent a shop, this expense needs to factored into your cost of doing business.

10. Write a Business Plan

Many business owners think they only need to prepare a business plan to get outside financing from a bank or other lender. Not true. A business plan is your roadmap to success. All craft businesses should have one so you can anticipate problems and come up with solutions.

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by Leland Richardson on November 13, 2021 0

Setting Up Your Home-Based Arts and Crafts Office

If my clients are any indication of how arts and crafts businesses are managed, many arts and crafts businesses are home based. Even if you need to rent studio space to make your craft, you are probably managing the business aspect of your arts and crafts company out of your home.

If you are thinking about starting an arts or crafts business, operating it out of your home will save on overhead and reduce the amount of startup cash you’ll need. Here are some tips to running your craft business out of your home.

Converting a Spare Room

This is kind of the holy grail of home businesses – that much bally-hoo’d spare room! Many folks new to crafts start a craft business later in life preparing to segue into it full time when they retire. In that case, there just may be a child’s bedroom that is no longer in use that can be converted into a workroom.

I also once owned a house that had a weirdly-shaped two car garage that was very deep – giving an extra fifteen feet by the width of the garage at its front. The prior owners had installed ductwork to have it under heat/air making it a perfect workroom.

After I moved, I purchased a portable rolling floor air conditioner to convert the new garage space into a workroom. The unit was somewhat pricey but it’s paid for itself many times over for both the business and for home use when we’ve had repair issues. The one I purchased does triple duty as a dehumidifier and regular fan too. The only problem is that your garage must have a window to connect the exhaust tubing when using as an air conditioner .

Converting a Closet

Once again, most people just don’t have extra closet space. But if you do, taking the doors off a regular closet will allow you to fit a desk and other equipment inside (I know from experience!). A walk-in closet with a window is ideal.

I find working on my business paperwork without natural light somewhat depressing. I have a large Verilux light that I use at night.

Investigating Unused Space for the Home Office

Look around your home to see where you can setup operations in an unused corner. Here are some suggestions:

Basement – it’s been so long since I lived in a house with a basement I almost forgot about it. Still there is the lack of natural light problem. You could try using a Verilux or similar lighting solution.
Unused space on stair landing – install a drop-down shelf that leaps into action when you need it and folds flush to the wall when you don’t.
Laundry room – you could think about buying a full-sized stacking washer and dryer to free up enough space to install a workstation. Just about any washer/dryer that has a flat top can convert to stacking using the correct kit. Plus most kits have a pull-out shelf for folding the fresh laundry.
Stow and go desk – I was in the market for a stow and go work area last year. After hours of searching, I found this great one at Furniturexo.com. We had to put off moving for another year so I’m waiting to buy it until after the move. It seem ideal in many ways. Sturdy, lots of room for storage, somewhat attractive in appearance and folds to a minimal footprint.
Expand a windowsill – install a folding shelf to the sill itself or to the wall immediately beneath. This has the extra advantage of all that natural light. You can install sheers to block excess sunlight when the sun is directly at window height.
Weirdly walled space – if you have an area of your house that is between rooms anchored by two walls creating wasted space, considering putting your workspace in there and hanging a matchstick shade from the ceiling long enough to extend to the floor to hide the area when you are finished working.

For more ideas, check out your local bookstore magazine stand. Since living in small houses for the last ten years, I have noticed there is just a plethora of magazines devoted to organizing and living in small spaces.

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by Leland Richardson on November 6, 2021 0

The First Step to Start a Craft Business

You can’t just wake up one morning and decide you’re going to start a craft business. Running any type of successful business requires planning. Your first step in the planning process is to figure out exactly what you want to accomplish by starting a crafts business. This reason could be as simple as wanting to get rid of all those spare quilts hanging around the house to quitting your odious day job.

Running a Crafts Business Part Time = Extra Money

The majority of crafters I yak it up with at craft and trade shows started their business on the side to make extra cash doing something they enjoyed. The reasons for this are really varied. Quitting a hated day job (those lottery dreams just didn’t pan out!), saving to educate the children or having more financial leverage so that each unexpected cash outlay is not so stressful – to name just a few.

That last one is a biggie. Let’s face it, money might not buy happiness, but life sure is a lot more enjoyable when you don’t have to worry about how you’re going to fix your kid’s tooth broken in a skateboarding accident or shutter every time you start your car because you wonder how much that new rattle is going to cost to fix.

Many crafters start their business part time to satisfy immediate cash concerns. Going full time with the craft business can always be an option somewhere down the road. If you’re planning to flat out walk away from a regular paycheck working for someone else the amount of planning you’ll need to do is immense. For example, you need to figure out how you’re going to cover all your personal living expenses without that steady paycheck.

Moms Seeking Home Work

One escalating trend is the stay at home mom (or dad) looking for ways to make extra money. Running a craft business is an ideal home based business. Unless your craft involves some hazardous material, it’s as simple as finding a spare corner in your house, garage or basement to set up shop. If your children aren’t of school age, part of your planning will involve how you’re going to work your business around caring for your children.

A home based craft business is not a substitute for adequate outside childcare. It’s just not possible to plop in a Sesame Street DVD and think you’re going to get an uninterrupted block of time to work on your crafts. One possible suggestion is arrange with other parents you know to share babysitting duties. That way you can forge out some quality alone time to devote yourself 100% to the craft business. However, if you’re the type of parent who doesn’t feel comfortable having someone else watch their children, this option will not work for you.

Early Retirement

Maybe you were forced into early retirement or are seriously considering taking an early retirement package. While it might seem like the decision to make some extra money by opening a craft business is a logical one – after all you’ve kind of been forced into it – really think about it and make sure that this is the right business for you.

Crafting is Work Just Like Any Other Job Like all hobbies, sad but true, making crafts turns into a job if you have to do it. Serious intent to make a livable profit is the most important divider between the hobby crafter and those ready to start a craft business. Ask yourself – are you willing to put in the hours and effort needed to create a successful business? Can you be flexible – are you willing to change business methods and operations in order to move towards making a profit?

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